Public-Third Sector partnership work took a major step forward on the 25th of January 2007 with the launch of Procuring Social Enterprise, the new programme from the London Community Recycling Network. The programme, launched by Dan Rogerson MP - co-chair of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group (APSWG) and member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, will assist local authorities to partner with third sector organisations, and support the commissioning of services from them. The launch follows central government’s recent high-profile push to encourage the public and third sectors to work more closely and develop public-social partnerships. 

Representatives from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), attended the launch in support of the Procuring Social Enterprise programme, indicating the potential of the programme in assisting achievements for better public services, a stronger public realm and more cohesive communities. Matthew Thomson, Chief Executive of London CRN said: “the launch of this crucial programme demonstrates the need of a value-driven approach to business, a focus on public benefit and not just profits. We intend to facilitate the development of partnership working between local authorities and the burgeoning, localised third sector.”

Attendees heard from Dan Rogerson MP of the importance of social enterprises to the development of sustainable communities. Mark Upton (DCLG) and David Mottershead (Defra) together explored the useful role social enterprise plays in the delivery of waste and resource management contracts, and placed a particular emphasis on encouraging competition and the delivery of responsive, customer-centred services. Matthew Thomson then facilitated a comprehensive question and answer session highlighting the key issues raised throughout the launch, underlining the ways in which the public and third sector must together develop innovative partnerships across the Capital.

Contact Sophie Maqsood, Project Manager or Vicky Kington, Communications Manager for further comment or quotes on 020 7324 4690.

Contact the London CRN communications team for related images on 020 7324 4699.

If you are a local authority officer looking to establish partnerships with the third sector, we’ve put together a few ideas to get you started. To find out more click here

Downloads

To download the presentations by Mark Upton, David Mottershead and Matthew Thomson, simply click on the links below:

The Local Government’s Commissioning Role and the Third Sector – Mark Upton, Head of Markets and Contestability, Department for Communities and Local Government

Waste, Recycling and the Third Sector – David Mottershead, Head of Waste Policy and Processes, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Introducing the Procuring Social Enterprise programme – Matthew Thomson, Chief Executive, London Community Recycling Network